


All In

by eversosweet



Category: One Direction (Band), Taylor Swift (Musician)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5430647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eversosweet/pseuds/eversosweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ed gets news that Taylor's about to be asked a big life-changing question, but not until he and Niall can do something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All In

The party was buzzing after everyone surprised Joe Jonas for his birthday. The music was playing constant dance music that got everyone on their feet. Taylor was in the middle of the crowd, mingling and dancing to the beat while she talked and laughed with her closest girlfriends.

Adam and Ed stood by the bar, both with a drink in their hands, and observed as everyone was enjoying themselves. Every once in a while, they would nod their heads to go with the beat of the song and you could tell Adam was itching to be the DJ, in control of the music.

But this wasn't his night to work, this was a night for him to accompany his girlfriend in celebrating her friend's birthday. Her friend that was also widely known as a former boyfriend of hers. Adam would always play it off that it didn't bother him that Taylor was so comfortable being around her ex. But in reality, it bothered him. A lot. But Adam knew better now than to say anything to Taylor about who she can or can't hang out with.

While Adam finished the beer in his hand, he looked over at Ed who was busy attempting to talk to some tall brunette woman in a short mini skirt, and put his hand in his pocket. In his pocket, he felt the box that he has had in there for about a week now, digging a hole in his pocket ever since he bought what was inside while he was in London.

"Hey, Ed, can I talk to you outside for a bit?" Adam interrupted Ed's flirty conversation with the brunette, causing Ed to give him a cold hard glare for a quick second.

Ed glanced back at the brunette and whispered something in her ear. "I'll be back," he added before letting Adam take the lead out to the exit doors.

He enjoyed Adam's company for the most part and they got along pretty well. Ed didn't really have much of a reason not to like the guy. There would be times he would have tiny feelings of guilt whenever he'd get a text from his friend Harry while he was hanging out with both Taylor and Adam, but Ed tried not to let it get to him. He just didn't mention to his friend Harry who he was hanging out with, though there'd be times when Harry would actually call and hear their voices in the background.  Ed would break into a sweat and apologize, though Harry would say it didn't bother him.

"What's up, mate?"

Adam didn't say a word. He just took the box out of his pocket and handed it to Ed.

Ed raised a curious eyebrow at Adam just as he took the box and opened it. Inside was a ring. A ring with a giant diamond. Ed's eyes widened at the sight of it. He didn't speak right away, needing a few seconds to process everything.

"Yes, I will marry you, but what about Taylor?" Ed finally said just as he let out a nervous laugh. He didn't know what he was supposed to do or say to Adam.

"Ed, please," Adam replied, his voice serious. "Do you think she'll like it?"

It took another moment for Ed come up with a response. Logically, he knew Taylor wouldn't want to be proposed to this soon in her relationship with Adam, but he didn't want to sound like a jerk.

"It's a nice ring," Ed said in his best encouraging voice.

"Nice? Just nice?" Adam sounded a bit offended.

"I'm sure any girl would love to have that ring, man," Ed continued, trying his best to sound enthusiastic. But there was something else going on in his head now. "When are you thinking of asking her?"

Adam rubbed his chin and looked down at the ring again. "I was thinking this weekend."

Ed nodded and patted Adam on the shoulder. "Well, good luck, mate," he said with a grin.

.....

"What's going on, Ed? What's the big emergency?" Niall asked Ed over the phone as Niall was on his way back to his hotel from the gym.

"We need to talk, man. Where are you?" Ed responded, his voice a bit tense and uneasy.

"I'm in LA this week," Niall answered him as he reached the door of his hotel room and opened the door.

"Is Harry in LA?"

Niall paused for a second, wondering what the emergency was that had to do with Harry. He shrugged to himself and sat down on the bed in his room, letting himself lay down on the bed after a long workout.

"You're acting weird," Niall commented quickly before decided to answer. "He's in LA, yeah. We're supposed to meet up for dinner tonight."

"Niall, we need to talk to him. It's about Taylor."

"What about Taylor?" Niall asked, now alert as he sat up straight.

"Adam, Calvin, her boyfriend..." Ed started with a sigh. "He's going to propose."

.....

It didn't take very long for Niall to get showered and changed so he could meet up with Ed. After Ed told him about the ring that Adam showed him, Niall started to panic. He knew what that meant. It meant that Niall had to convince his best friend that time was running out. He couldn't wait any longer.

"What are we going to tell him? He's gonna be here any minute," Niall asked Ed as he began to pace back and forth in his hotel room. "It's going to kill him."

"Let's not overreact," Ed sighed, rubbing his temples as he tried to think of how this conversation was going to go. "He could be okay with it. Maybe he's moved on. It's been two years, more than two years, hasn't it?"

Niall looked at Ed quietly and shook his head. Ed hasn't been around Harry lately as much as Niall has. Maybe Harry and Taylor had broken up for over two years now. But he was fully aware that it didn't mean they weren't out of each other's lives. He was around for the phone calls, the text messages, the occasional covert visits they'd give each other. But all that was before Adam. Niall noticed just how fast it stopped when Taylor met her new boyfriend.

"We'll just tell him, then. And he can do what he wants with that information," Niall suggested, though part of him really didn't want to do that. What Niall really wanted to do was to yell at Harry and beg him not to give up on her.

Niall remembered all too well how the relationship was between Harry and Taylor when they were officially dating. They were in their own little world, happy and in love. But he Niall also remembered the stress and anxiety caused by the death threats and hate messages. The media made it just as bad. It was never ending and really put a strain in their relationship. Sometimes Niall would have to be the mediator whenever Taylor and Harry got into fights about their relationship.

Ever since they broke up, Niall knew Harry wasn't over her. Harry didn't like to talk about it, but they wrote enough songs together that proved it.

When a knock came at the door, Niall and Ed both looked at each other for a moment until Ed got up and went towards the door. Niall took a deep breath while he watched Ed open the door. Harry was on the other side, as expected, with a huge grin on his face.

"Ed!" He exclaimed, his voice chipper and enthusiastic. Harry gave Ed a warm hug  and patted him on the back. "Good to see you, mate."

"How's it going, man?" Ed asked curiously, letting Harry step further into the hotel room. Harry walked towards Niall to give his band-mate a hug. 

"All's well," Harry said with a nod. He watched as his two friends gave each other another exchange of suspicious glances. "What's the matter with you two? It was a bit unexpected you both needed to see me right away."

"We've got some news to give you, we thought you'd want to know in case you wanna do something about it," Niall spoke up after a few seconds of the three of them just looking at each other as Harry patiently waited for one of them to say something.

"Alright, spill it," Harry said as he let out a nervous chuckle. He was worried something was really wrong now. Niall and Ed wouldn't have him come over just to tell him something that wasn't serious.

"It's about Taylor," Ed informed Harry, his eyes staring intently back at Harry's.

Harry nearly froze and felt himself begin to panic. Hearing her name caused his heart to start beating faster and he began to worry about her.

"Taylor? Is she okay? What's wrong?" Harry managed to stammer out, his eyes filled with concern over his former love.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Niall answered in a rush. "She's fine. It's just, uh... as you know, she's been dating Calvin Harris."

Harry nearly winced hearing the name, but he tried to play it off. He crossed his arms defensively, wondering where this was going.

"I know about them," Harry responded.

"Ed?" Niall turned to his redheaded friend in hopes that Ed could break the news a bit easier than he could. Niall really was just afraid to hurt Harry in anyway by being the bearer of bad news.

Ed sighed and shrugged. "He's proposing to her, Harry. He showed me the ring."

Harry heard what Ed just told him, but he really didn't expect to hear it. He just nodded and let his arms loose down at his sides.

"Well, alright, then," Harry responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What?! Harry, why aren't you more upset?" Niall questioned.

"Upset? Why would I be upset? Good for her... I'm happy for her," Harry said, his voice sounded calm, but his hand began to fidget now. First he started to nervously rearrange the strands of his hair and then he moved them onto tapping on his knee.

Ed let out a small chuckle and shook his head. "Harry, you don't have to pretend that it's not bothering you. It's me and Niall here."

"What do you want me to say?" Harry almost snapped, though he still managed to keep his voice the same tone as before. "Like there's anything I could even do at this point," he added in a low breath.

Harry sat down on the nearest chair and leaned back on it. He really felt like there wasn't much he could do. They've made their peace with each other. Despite the fact that Harry always held a torch for her, he knew she had moved on.

After their initial breakup, Harry and Taylor didn't let it end there. They couldn't. They found their way back to each other more than a handful of times here and there. Nothing too serious, of course. They both understood why they broke up and how busy their lives were. It couldn't work out, as much as they wanted it to. But the feelings were always there.

"You can go to her? Tell her you still love her?" Niall suggested, hoping he wasn't wrong in that assumption.

"I can't just do that," Harry shook his head. He took his eyes off Ed and Niall and let them wander off, thinking about his blonde ex-girlfriend. "She's happy, isn't she?"

"Not as happy as she was with you," Ed stated.

Harry looked up at his friends who were standing before him side by side, telling him to go chase after Taylor. Despite his urge to do something about it, he had to respect that she's with someone else. And if she wants to accept his proposal, there was nothing he could do about it.

He stood up from the chair and started to head towards the door. "I'm not going to talk about this. I'm sorry you guys were worried about me and I appreciate you giving me a heads up, but we've both moved on."

"That's bullshit," Niall blurted out.

Harry stopped in his tracks and looked back at Niall. He could tell that both Niall and Ed were hoping his reaction would be different. When he and Taylor dated, Niall and Ed were the ones that gave them the most support among  all of their mutual friends.

The look of disappointment was clear now in Harry's face, but he wasn't disappointed in Niall or Ed, and especially not Taylor. He was disappointed in himself.

"It's too late," Harry stated, his voice low and almost shaky. He cleared his throat and his lips twitched. "I've gotta go."

And without another word, Harry was out the door leaving Niall and Ed alone.

..........

"You alright, babe?" Adam asked Taylor, who was sitting beside him on her living room couch. Taylor was casually going through her different social media outlets to check up on her fans when Adam interrupted her concentration.

Taylor always made it a habit to check nearly everyday what her fans were up to, sometimes Adam would literally have to pry her phone out of her hands to get her off her phone.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Taylor answered him, though her attention was still focused on her Tumblr feed. When she landed on some pictures of her with Harry, back when they dated a few years ago. Taylor was used to seeing these pictures all the time and though she usually scrolled past it, there would be times she'd let it linger on her screen for a bit.

The bittersweet reminders of her relationship with Harry were always present no matter how hard she tried not to pay attention to them. It was kind of hard to avoid thinking about him when the majority of her new songs were written about or inspired by him.

Taylor heard Adam sigh and her eyes looked into his as she watched him lean his head back onto the couch.

"Sorry," she playfully pouted, placing her phone face down on the coffee table.

"It's fine, I was just thinking about taking you out tonight, if that's alright? We could go to a nice restaurant for dinner."

"Yeah, yeah, of course," Taylor smiled and nodded her head. She placed a kiss on Adam's lips and rubbed her thumb on his cheek. "Sounds great, babe."

Just when Taylor was about to ask where he wanted to go for dinner, her phone buzzed. She took one glance at it before looking at Adam. He smirked at her and nodded his head. She took that as permission to go back to her phone and she picked it back up to find a text from Ed.

 **Ed:** t, come over to my house... you need to hear this new song i wrote!!!!

Taylor let out a laugh, finding the amount of excitement in his text amusing.

"Ed wants me to go over to his place for a bit and listen to some of his new music," she informed Adam. She was unsure if Ed's invitation was extended to Adam. Usually when Ed had new music, he would only have her there to listen to it.

"Go, I'll be fine here. I'll play with the kittens," he told her just as Olivia started to walk in front of them.

"I'll be back before dinner," she promised, giving Adam one more kiss on the lips.

......

"I hope this plan works," Niall sighed as he nervously started strumming on the guitar he picked up in Ed's music room after Harry had gone off to the kitchen to fix them a healthy snack to eat.

"It will. You saw how Harry was last night. He still loves her," Ed spoke as he kept his eye on the driveway, waiting for Taylor's car to arrive.

Ed and Niall had invited Harry to come over to Ed's place under the guise that they'd write some songs together.

When Taylor's car finally pulled up to the driveway, Ed looked at Niall and breathed out anxiously.

"Here we go. The plan's in motion, Niall," Ed stated with a clap of his hands. Niall nodded his head and set the guitar beside him and got up from his seat.

"I'll get Harry, you get Taylor," Niall added with a hopeful smile. Although Niall really didn't know what to expect from this plan of theirs, he hoped it'd give his two friends an opportunity to clear the air. Obviously, ever since Taylor started dating Adam, there's been some tension every time either of their names were mentioned to the other. If they wanted to move on, they had to get this over with.

Niall met up with Harry in the kitchen and grinned widely at his best friend who was putting together a fruit bowl. He grabbed a few grapes from the bowl and popped them into his mouth.

"Thanks, man, I was getting hungry," Niall told Harry while eating a few more pieces of fruit.

"Well, save some for Ed and I, too," Harry teased, as he cut up some apples to add to the bowl.

"You probably want to make enough for four," Niall said, purposely letting it slip that they'd have a visitor.

"Four? Who else is coming?" Harry asked curiously, just as they started to hear the sound of footsteps.

Harry heard her voice and his heart almost skipped a beat. The familiar, cheerful voice that could light up an entire room filled with people. Hell, the voice that could light up an entire stadium filled with people.

Taylor was talking to Ed just as they entered the kitchen and stopped the moment she saw who was in the room. Their eyes met for a moment and the silence in Ed's kitchen was deafening.

"Hey," Taylor spoke up, breaking the silence as her attention turned to Niall and Ed. Her face looked puzzled as she searched Ed's face for answers. She found herself walking towards Harry and Niall, approaching Niall first to give her friend a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, T," Niall greeted her with a friendly smile.

Harry looked at their exchange of greetings and anxiously prepared himself for how he would greet her.

"Hi Harry," Taylor said with a gentle smile on her lips.

"Hi Taylor," Harry responded, hesitating for a few seconds before he leaned in a gave her a quick hug. He felt her hand on his back and he could smell her favorite perfume when his nose was near her neck.

"Are we all here to listen to Ed's new song, or...?" Taylor asked, not directing the question towards any of the three men in the kitchen.

"Actually," Ed began, glancing at Niall. "Niall and I got you two here so you could talk."

"Talk? Talk about what?" Taylor asked as she looked back at Harry. Harry shrugged, also clearly unaware of what was going on.

"Just, talk..." Niall responded vaguely, walking towards Ed. He faced both Taylor and Harry and gave Harry a serious look. "And we're not letting you leave until you sort things out."

Harry took a deep breath and shook his head. He knew what they were up to. Even after he denied wanting to do anything when they told him about Adam and the ring he bought for Taylor, Niall and Ed did not want to give up.

"I'm confused," Taylor said, wondering what was going on and why Niall and Ed had to trick the two of them into talking to each other.

"We'll be out in the living room," Ed informed them, ignoring the look of confusion on Taylor's face and the look of annoyance on Harry's.

Taylor and Harry watched as their two friends walked off, closing the kitchen door behind them.

"Do you have any idea why they're doing this?" Taylor asked Harry.

"Uh, no, not really," Harry lied, keeping his eyes diverted to keep from making eye contact from her. Not because he wanted to avoid her, but because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop staring.

"Hm," Taylor said quietly. Her eyes studied him carefully, noticing how different he looked since the last time she saw him up close. His hair had gotten longer and she remembered the conversation they had when she told him she wanted to cut her hair short. He had told her he wanted to grow his. Coincidentally, both of them currently had the hairstyles they both talked about wanting.

"Are you happy?" Harry asked suddenly, his eyes still focused into the distance.

Taylor hesitated to response. Yes, she was happy. She's practically on cloud nine. Her career was on fire. Her album was breaking all kinds of records and her tour was selling out in every city. There's no doubt about Taylor Alison Swift being happy.

"Yes, absolutely, I'm happy," Taylor answered him.

"Good," Harry responded just as he finally was able to look into Taylor's eyes. "I'm glad you're happy."

Taylor stared back into his eyes and saw the forced smile on his lips. "Harry, are you happy?"

Harry paused and thought about her question. Harry was also lucky to have a career that was successful and thriving. There'd been a few hurdles to jump over in the past year, but Harry did his best to look on the brighter side of things. He was just glad he had his band-mates to lean on. His social life was great, too, as Harry was surrounded by some very close friends that he trusted with his life. But there's always been a missing piece.

"I am," he said to her with a nod.

Another moment of silence passed and Harry thought about the conversation he had with Ed and Niall the night before. He had no idea when Adam was planning on proposing to Taylor, but he assumed it would be soon. He wouldn't buy a ring and wait a year to pop the question.

"Do you ever wonder..." Taylor muttered, but trailed off in an attempt to stop her mouth to stop what was going on in her mind.

"Wonder what?"

Taylor sighed and looked down at her hands as she rested them on the kitchen counter. "Do you ever wonder... what would've happened to us if we stuck it out longer?"

Harry quietly sucked in a breath of air, caught off guard by Taylor's questions. He wasn't expecting her to be the one to bring up their past relationship.

"I think if we were a normal couple, out of the spotlight, and we put our all into it..." Harry began as he turned to face her. "We would've been one for the history books."

Taylor couldn't help a smile escape from her lips as she remembered all the incredible moments they shared when they were together. Even after they had broken up and hooked up here and there, there were still plenty of sparks.

She shook those thoughts of her head and brought herself back to the present. The present involved being with Adam.

"He makes me happy, too," Taylor said quietly. "We're happy."

"Yeah," Harry nodded his head as he attempted to give her his best encouraging smile.  He lowered his head as his eyes looked up at her. "That could've been us. Happy, together."

"Harry..." Taylor sighed, biting her lower lip. "We've tried."

"We can try again."

"It won't work."

"We were young, too young back then. We've both grown up since then. I've learned from my mistakes."

Taylor looked at Harry apologetically. She was fighting the urge to comfort him the best and only way she knew how. But she couldn't. And it was killing her.

"I'm sorry," she breathed out, placing her palm on his cheek. "I have to go."

....

Taylor came back to her house to find Adam getting ready for their date. She was still a bit flustered from her encounter with Harry, but she had to shake those feelings and thoughts off.

After getting showered and changed into a nicer date outfit, Adam and Taylor went on their way to their nice, romantic dinner. It was always nice when her and Adam had some time alone, mostly because the rest of the time, both their schedules involved being surrounded by other people.

"You look nice tonight," Adam complimented her, as he nervously played with the silverware that was set on the dinner table. They were put in a private room so that they could be left alone without having people trying to sneak pictures of them.

"Thank you," Taylor mumbled.

"You seem distracted, is everything okay?"

Taylor snapped back to reality and looked back at Adam. She gave him a warm smile and nodded her head. "Yeah, sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Care to share?"

"Oh, uh, it's just the song Ed played for me today. I just keep thinking about the beat and the lyrics and all. Nothing too serious," she explained.

Adam nodded his head and smiled widely at her.

"Well, I actually have something serious I want to talk to you about," Adam said just as the waiter set two glasses of champagne on the table. He pulled out a velvet box from his jacket pocket and stood up from his seat. Taylor stared at him, unable to move, as she watched as Adam got down on one knee.

"Taylor, I love you. You're an incredible woman and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Adam began as he cracked open the box, showing off the giant diamond ring that was inside. "Will you marry me?"

Taylor couldn't get a word out. She felt physically unable to respond. Her mind was running a mile a minute and her heart was beating almost three times as fast as it usually was. In her thoughts, she didn't see Adam at the altar. As much as she tried to picture it, while Adam as actually down on one knee right in front of her, she couldn't picture Adam in a black tux standing next to a minister. There was only one person she could picture.

"Adam, I-" she stammered in a panic. "I can't, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

A look of confusion came over Adam's face as he continued to kneel before Taylor.

"Okay, it's too soon, then?"

"No, Adam. It's just that...," Taylor stood up from her seat and waited for Adam to stand up as well. "I can't be with you. I..."

"It's him isn't it?" Adam asked, his voice harsh.

"I'm so sorry," Taylor repeated her apology again just as she kissed Adam's cheek and practically ran out of the restaurant.

.....

There was a few loud, thunderous knocks on the door of Harry's house, which almost alarmed him. Harry approached the door, wondering who could be showing up unannounced. With his celebrity status, it really could be anyone on the other side of the door, from paparazzi to fans.

It took Harry by surprise when he looked through the peephole to see the porch light illuminating on a mess of blonde hair and the face that consumed many of his dreams.

He opened the door widely and Taylor stood at his doorstep, causing a puzzled look on his face. His eyes scanned her face and the rest of her body. Taylor's face looked flushed with sweat on her forehead and her hair was disheveled as if she had ran to his house. But that didn't seem likely since she was also wearing a nice dress with a pair of heels. 

Taylor only was able to smile at Harry as she stepped further into his house and closer to Harry.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked worriedly, wondering what she was doing here. 

"Let's try again," she said in between breaths.

"You're out of breath," Harry responded immediately, not even processing right away what she had just said.

"I want to try again," Taylor ignored his comment and reached for his hand.

"What do you mean try again?" Harry looked at her, letting her hold onto his hand. He was confused because after the conversation they had earlier, he was sure there wouldn't be another chance between them. "What about Adam?"

"I couldn't say yes. He asked me to marry him, Harry," she said, shaking her head as she remembered how she had disappointed her now ex-boyfriend, Adam. "He proposed and all I kept thinking about was you."

Harry studied her face and couldn't help but smile at what she had just told him. She was beaming with excitement at him, urging him to give them another chance. Harry couldn't mess this up again. This wasn't going to be something he wanted to just try. This was something he had to do. He had to be with Taylor.

"Then let's do this. One hundred percent. All in," Harry promised.

Taylor nodded her head and grinned.

"All in."


End file.
